Plush
by tackygoldring
Summary: Suicidal Teddy survives.


Teddy felt the unending dismay gripped him from inside again. It's been years since he first gained awareness. Years since he first realized how pointless life was. Back then he had cried out in despair after the first time he tried to kill himself with that gun.

He remembered it too. The way that bullet had passed through the stuffing in his head, shredding a new path in the fluff. He remembered the smell of burning polyester, and the stunned realization that he was still here. He sniveled a little.

Audrey had told him everybody had changed back to how they were before. Everybody except Teddy. He sobbed at the thought. Audrey had and tried to tell him everything would be okay for him too, but even she had lost all interest in him when he stubbornly remained _here_. When he finally told her he was leaving to find some meaning in life, she had seemed almost relieved. Audrey's parting words to him were that she wanted him to "be happy."

As if that's something so easily done. Maybe it is for others, maybe there is just something wrong with him. Teddy could not remember the last time he had felt joy. Perhaps he had never felt it.

Subsequent attempts had been no different. Each one failed to release him from this miserable world. Now he was slumped against a tree in the woods at the edge of some town far away from Audrey. His once shiny fur was now stained. The last time he tried to take himself out of his misery had been a drowning attempt two days ago. He had hoped the current in that river could tear his body apart. All he got for his trouble were soggy stuffing and dizziness. Here he was, a failure yet once more. He could do nothing other than sit and wait for his body to dry.

At least his fur got somewhat of a washing from that, a little less grimy and crunchy than before. Not that it really mattered. Teddy let his head drop and stared down his body. Who would be looking at him anyway? He had been careful to avoid people this past few years. Their shocked screams unraveled his sanity even more than the usual dread of life.

A rustling away from the river caught his attention. Teddy turned his head to look out into the darkness of the woods. There appeared to be a person with a large white head moving toward him. But that can't be right. Human heads shouldn't be nearly as big.

Soon enough, a man-shaped being stepped into view. What looked to be the body of a man in a plaid shirt sported a large plush bunny head. He was staring at Teddy with cheerful dark eyes, his face frozen in a terribly jolly smile. But even in the patchy moonlight under the trees Teddy could see blotches of dirt on fur that was crushed in patched, as if his head had been left in a storage box for too long. Teddy felt unease sneak up in the vicinity of his chest. Maybe bunny-man thought he was a toy left behind by a careless child. Teddy shifted on the ground.

"What do you want?" His voice sounded too croaky even to himself.

Bunny-man didn't answer, but moved closer still, until he was looming over Teddy. He squatted down so those stitched eyes stared directly into Teddy's glassy red ones. Bunny-man tilted his head slightly, then his right hand came up to cup Teddy's black cheek. Some seconds passed as they watched each other motionlessly. His other hand twitched as if it wanted to be doing something as well. If he had a heart, Teddy thought to himself, it would be beating faster with nervousness. As it was, his fluffy stuffing remained stilled in his chest. Teddy speculated about the lack of screaming so far. Maybe he's just as sick in the head as Teddy.

Without warning bunny-man put both his hands under Teddy's arms and hoisted him up to a standing position. Teddy absently noted that were almost the same height this way. His legs were still slightly dense from the water and dragged on the ground heavily.

Bunny-man was pressing Teddy back into the tree. His humanoid body radiating heat against soft plush that had dried during the day. His warmth was becoming distracting for Teddy. He preferred it when he was left to his own pathetic self rather than having this hybrid creature with dubious history invade his personal space.

On the other hand, the heat did feel nice after he'd been cold and wet all day.

There was a hand at his face again. This time it wormed behind his head to cradle lightly on the old hole where Teddy blew his head out. The hole was patched up lovingly by Audrey back then. But he could feel the patch had started to fray at the seams. Teddy knew it was just a matter of time before it fell off. He had wondered if he would remain if all his stuffing leaked out. Regardless, his arms couldn't reach back there to tear off the patch himself, so he hadn't given it much attention. Warm fingers moved again and brought him back to the moment. He moaned as a finger rubbed alongside sensitive stitches around the patch.

The unease he had felt earlier coiled in his chest, now tinged with traces of an inexplicable urgency. As he started to wonder what this stranger was doing, he felt another hand stroked down his back to rest on what passed as his waist. The hand on his head abandoned fingering his raw seams and started to move down too.

Bunny-man's large eyes were unbearably close, unnerving in their stillness. From this close, Teddy could see they were black eyes after all, not just a trick of lighting. Blue stitching formed circles around to give them the illusion of a smile. Nobody ever smiled at him after Audrey. Which made it all the more perplexing why this creature was trying to get so close.

Not that Teddy really wanted to complain at this point. Part of him was grateful to feel something other than despair. If that meant apprehension from having a stranger rub up against him so be it.

Wait, the stranger _was_ rubbing against him. It has started so subtly he didn't even notice. Now that he did, he couldn't stopped noticing the feeling of something heavy and solid and warm pressed on him. That actually felt okay. It was certainly a change from the cold rough tree bark, or the cold smelly garbage cans, or the cold hard ground he was used to feeling against his plush. He made another moan. He could get used to making this sound.

Teddy reflected about how quiet bunny-man was being. He hadn't made a sound since he came close from the tree line. Bunny-man's large head was crowding near his cheek. The size of it made the occasional contact awkward and bumpy. At least he didn't have to look at those creepy watching eyes when they were standing this close.

His hands had both moved to caress Teddy's torso with long sure strokes on his sides. Teddy could feel calluses on his hands drag across polyester, pieces of uneven skin snagging on fabric. The roughness of his hands might even be described to feel pleasant. If he had human skin, now would be the time goosebumps would form.

One of the hands squeezed down roughly on his midsection. Teddy quivered under the pressure. He could feel his stuffing compressed inside, then sprung back to their original form. He sighed softly. This was so different from inanimate objects jabbing him. His inside was tingly in the least uncomfortable way.

He could feel a shift in bunny-man's body as his hips pushed closer still. It dawned on Teddy the hardness he felt on his belly area was bare flesh. That part was now rubbing quietly on him. The only sound he could hear was the rustle of clothes. A small whimper escaped from Teddy. When did he push down his pants? Teddy really was getting too distracted by all this touching.

The crush and bounce of his stuffing was creating the most interesting sensation inside. He focused on the shift of fibers contained under his fur, their own friction began to heat him up from the inside. Teddy decided to concentrate on this warmth he hadn't felt in, well, ever.

Bunny-man was determined to contribute to his warm and fuzzy feelings it seemed. His rocking motion had sped up. His body now ground into plush with more force. His hands gripped Teddy's shoulder and body with silent demand. He wondered if this slight expanding burning inside was what humans felt when they found something they enjoyed doing. Maybe this is what joy felt like. If that were the case, Teddy could understand why Audrey told him he should try to find it. A purr bubbled up from his chest.

Teddy felt bunny-man's body shuddered and stilled. A splash of something wet spurted on their chests. Bunny-man stayed leaning against him for what seemed like ages. Teddy was surprised to recognize his displeasure at the ceased friction. It had been more agreeable than usual to experience something other than endless blandness.

Just as Teddy was about to ask him to go back to rocking, bunny-man lifted his head from the spot it rested on Teddy's shoulder and stepped away. His smiling cheek brushed past Teddy's short ear. His movements were eerily fluid and silent. Teddy saw his pants were back in place and dark splashes stained his shirt. His ears swayed minutely in the air.

Another moment and he turned to walk away. Teddy struggled out a coarse incoherent sound. How could he speak clearly when the last few minutes had made him _feel_ more than he'd ever had in his entire life after awareness?

Bunny-man didn't seem to hear him. He walked out to the dimly lit woods to disappear where he came from. Teddy slid down the tree to collapse back onto the ground. That had been the most interesting thing he had encountered in this world of unending misery. Teddy shrank from thinking about going back to the hopeless life he had before. He wished the warmth would have lasted longer. Or, his eyes glinted as an idea sparked into life inside his damaged head, he could find bunny-man to repeat this experience.

For the first time in memory, he could start to understand what people meant when they said to have a purpose in life. All he has to do now is dry up and drag himself into the world to find that ridiculous large head on a human-sized body. Or at least another creature able to satisfy his newfound appetite for heat and friction.


End file.
